Meet the Celebrity Come Dine With Me 2020 contestants
The celebrity edition of the competitive dining show is back for 2020 with a brand new bunch of famous faces - but who are they?
As the old adage goes, too many cooks spoil the broth, but too many celebrity cooks can only mean one thing – Celebrity Come Dine With Me is back for another year of burnt soufflés, unsubtle name-dropping and savage scorecards.
The new series will air every weeknight on E4, starting from 27th January up until Valentine’s Day. Each week, a different group of celebrities will compete to be the host with the most by providing their famous dinner companions with delicious food and interesting entertainment.
The full line-up of contestants is yet to be announced, but the first two groups include a fair few reality stars, a rapper, an actress and a comedy double-act.
Find out below which celebs will be first to get their oven gloves on…
Jack Fincham hosts on Monday 27th January
Love Island winner Jack Fincham will be the first celebrity to cook up a storm in the kitchen for his famous guests. The former pen salesman won the 2018 series of the ITV2 reality show alongside Dani Dyer and has since developed a career as a TV presenter and boxer.
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Let’s hope Jack’s Come Dine With Me dish debut can beat the chicken fajitas he made with Dani in the villa.
Abz Love hosts on Tuesday 28th January
The second contestant to flaunt their culinary prowess is singer-rapper Abz Love, who is best known for being the frontman of boy band Five.
In 2014, Abz left the group, which recorded hits such as Keep on Movin’ and Everybody Get Up, and has since starred in BBC Two documentary series Country Strife: Abz on the Farm. He was a runner-up on the 2013 series of Celebrity Big Brother, losing out to Geordie Shore star Charlotte Crosby in the final, and recently released a solo comedy single.
Abz will be hosting his fellow contestants on the Tuesday so tune in to see if his farming experience comes in handy.
Donna & Verona host on Wednesday 29th January
Comedy duo Donna & Verona will be donning their aprons on Wednesday as they compete for the Come Dine With Me trophy together.
Donna Preston and Verona Rose have teamed up before to compete on E4 entertainment show Pants on Fire and they both star in short form comedy series Fully Blown on BBC3. Donna is also the face of ITV 2 celebrity quiz show Hey Tracey!, where she plays the titular virtual assistant.
Let’s hope the duo can use their comedic chemistry to work magic in the kitchen.
Dani Harmer hosts on Thursday 30th Janaury
Dani Harmer shot to fame in 2002 with her portrayal of the iconic CBBC character, Tracy Beaker. She brought the character out of retirement for new series Tracey Beaker Returns in 2010 and for two episodes of The Dumping Ground in 2018.
Harmer also found success on other CBBC shows, including Dani’s House and Dani’s Castle. She came in fourth place with professional Vincent Simone on the 2012 series of Strictly Come Dancing and competed on Pointless Celebrities at the beginning of this year.
The 30-year-old will be inviting her celebrity contestants over on Thursday, who may be told to ‘bog off’, in the words of Tracy Beaker, if they score Dani harshly.
Mark-Francis Vandelli hosts on Friday 31st January
Made In Chelsea’s Mark Francis Vandelli will close out the week with his hosting skills.
The reality star, who is also a menswear fashion designer, has been a cast member on the E4 series for almost a decade. He competed on the 2016 series of The Jump and appeared in his own spin-off show, Mark-Francis’ Big Night Out, the year after.
Charlotte Crosby hosts on Monday 3rd February
Geordie Shore’s Charlotte Crosby will be cooking up a storm during the second week of the dining competition.
The reality star is best known for winning Celebrity Big Brother in 2013 and presenting Just Tattoo of Us on MTV. She stars in her own reality series The Charlotte Show and is currently participating in the Australian I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here.
Jay Hutton hosts on Tuesday 4th February
Jay Hutton will be trading tattoo pens for saucepans on the second week of Celebrity Come Dine with Me. The tattoo artist, who is best known for working miracles on E4’s Tattoo Fixers, runs his own studio in Hackney.
Let’s hope he’s as skilled in the kitchen as he is with body ink.
Dawn Ward hosts on Wednesday 5th February
Reality star Dawn Ward – the wife of retired footballer Ashley Ward – will be putting her hosting skills to the test in week two of the competition. The interior designer has been a cast member of ITVBe’s Real Housewives of Cheshire since 2015.
If the parties on Real Housewives of Cheshire are anything to go by, then we’re sure that Dawn will bring the drama to the dinner table.
Ewen MacIntosh hosts on Thursday 6th February
Welsh comedian Ewen MacIntosh will be slipping on his oven gloves in the second week of the competition.
The actor played Keith Bishop in The UK Office and has since appeared in Miranda and Little Britain. He now presents various music programmes on Now 80s and Now 90s.
Steven Arnold hosts on Friday 7th February
Cheshire actor Steven Arnold played a butcher on Coronation Street, but has he got culinary chops outside of the cobbles? Steven left the soap after fifteen years as Ashley Peacock and has since competed on the celebrity edition of Total Wipeout and Dancing On Ice.
Let’s hope that Steven’s Come Dine with Me debut isn’t the second on-screen tram crash he has to endure.
Celebrity Come Dine With Me will air every weeknight on E4 from Monday 27th January to Friday 14th February.
